Shoulder arthroscopy to be covered under CM Health Insurance scheme

MADURAI

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar announced that shoulder arthroscopy would soon be covered under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance scheme.

He was speaking at ‘Madurai Shoulder-Knee Con 2019’, a two-day conference hosted by the Velammal Hospitals Orthopaedic department and the Tamil Nadu Arthoroscopy Society at the Velammal Medical College, here on Saturday.

He said that he had instructed officials from the Department of Medical Education to form a committee to evaluate the requirements of the surgery and the funds necessary.

“The Tamil Nadu government has an exclusive department that deals with Arthroscopy and sports injuries. About 3,000 patients have already benefited from the surgery under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance scheme. I assure you that the shoulder arthroscopy will be included,” he said.

In his address, the Minister said that the surgery highly benefits sportspersons and reduces recovery time, allowing them to play sooner even after injuries.

“Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in healthcare as we look at the sector with a service-oriented mindset. When other States are struggling to maintain the total number of medical seats, Tamil Nadu has gotten approval for a total of 350 medical seats with 100 in Madurai and Tirunelveli and 150 at a new Medical College in Karur,” he said.

In his address to the press, Mr. Vijayabaskar said that the process of getting approvals and submission of detailed project reports to the Central government for the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) project is going as per schedule.

“Tenders have been called for and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) team along with members of the Central and State government has inspected the site. We are going as per procedure,” he said.

Chairman of Velammal Educational Trust M.V. Muthuramalingam said the conference was organised to create awareness of the facilities available at the hospital. President and Course Director of the conference K. N. Subramanian said that anyone is susceptible to knee, hip, ankle and shoulder injuries and should have access to proper care.